Alaska Air reports February traffic; investor update

Alaska Air Group reported a 1.7 percent increase in traffic on a 1.2 percent increase in capacity compared to February 2016. Load factor increased 0.3 points to 80.4 percent.

Alaska Air Group combines mainline operations operated by subsidiaries Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, and for its regional flying operated by subsidiary Horizon Air and third-party regional carriers, SkyWest Airlines and Peninsula Airlines.

The group commented that winter storms in 2017 significantly impacted the operational performance across the network.

The following table shows the operational results for February and year-to-date, compared to the prior-year periods(1):

Alaska reported a 1.5 percent increase in traffic on a 0.6 percent increase in capacity compared to February 2016. Load factor increased 0.7 points to 81.4 percent. Alaska also reported 77.6 percent of its flights arrived on time in February 2017, compared to 89.3 percent reported in February 2016.

Virgin America traffic increased 2.6 percent on a 3.4 percent increase in capacity compared to February 2016. Load factor decreased 0.7 points to 78.3 percent. Virgin America also reported 64.6 percent of its flights arrived on time in February 2017, compared to 84.6 percent in February 2016.

Regional traffic increased 0.7 percent on a 0.3 percent decrease in capacity compared to February 2016. Load factor increased 0.8 points to 78.3 percent. Regional also reported 69.6 percent of its flights arrived on time in February 2017, compared to 91.7 percent in February 2016.